The Macomb school superintendent will continue in that role for several more years after the school board approved a two-year extension to his current contract.
“I love being a superintendent, and I love working here in Macomb,” said Dr. Patrick Twomey in an interview with TSPR.
“I’m grateful to the Macomb community for all the support I’ve received here, and I look forward to the next few years of bringing some more changes to our system for the betterment of our students.”
The extension runs Twomey’s contract through the 2027-28 school year. His current base salary is $226,817, and he receives a 3% increase every year.
Twomey said that in the coming years, he will work on increasing opportunities for students to take career and technical education (CTE) classes -- what were once known as vocational classes.
CTE includes courses such as construction management, nursing, and agriculture.
Twomey said the district is in early talks with Spoon River College about collaborating on such programs once the college completes its new campus in Macomb. The campus will include many of the resources needed for CTE courses.
“I think (SRC President) Dr. Curt Oldfield and myself are committed to this idea and I think we will see movement in that direction in the very near future,” Twomey said.
“It makes sense for us to partner together since we have the same goals in terms of delivering that type of system here in Macomb.”
Twomey began as Macomb’s superintendent in July of 2013. He spent the previous six years as superintendent of the Havana school district.
One issue Twomey tackled upon coming to Macomb was overcrowding, which he said has been a problem in the schools for decades.
His solution was to build a new middle school, and get voters to approve a one-cent sales tax to help pay for it.
“I remember when I first approached that subject, many laughed and said there’s no way the people of McDonough County will vote for another tax,” Twomey said.
He embarked on a campaign to demonstrate that many sales tax dollars generated locally come from people who live outside the county, and that the tax would generate enough money to pay for a new school.
The measure passed in the November 2016 election with support from 61% of voters.
The COVID pandemic slowed plans to build the new middle school, but it was finally completed and opened to students in August 2023.
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